


Your Presence Alone Warms Me

by Kmsimms, m4dh4tteywrites



Series: A Snowflake Upon a Wolf's Nose [1]
Category: Gotham (TV)
Genre: A Flustered birb, A quiet popsicle, Awkward Tension, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Ivy the plant cupid lady, M/M, Mention of Past lovers, Science Experiments
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-20
Updated: 2017-08-20
Packaged: 2018-12-17 16:55:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,032
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11855802
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kmsimms/pseuds/Kmsimms, https://archiveofourown.org/users/m4dh4tteywrites/pseuds/m4dh4tteywrites
Summary: Just a few weeks into this new Family of Freaks, Oswald has grown uncontrollably fond of Victor Fries; Ivy pepper encourages her new small, feathered friend to go up to the freezer and talk to the quiet popsicle, check out his cool experiments even; it's hard to utter word when those icy blues get too hypnotizing which invites much awkward momentary silences. This is gonna be fun!





	Your Presence Alone Warms Me

**Author's Note:**

> IT'S FINALLY HERE! Hope you guys will enjoy, cause Kelly and I certainly do~  
> She portrays Oswald, and Ivy.  
> I play as Victor whom I've grown to love more and more every second ; A ;

Victor had been busying himself signing up contracts for a couple of chemicals from several companies; mostly illegal ingredients for a cure to increase the warm temperature in his skin again, even if it was just a few hours to begin with. _But tch, the possibilities were extremely narrow_ , not to mention the constant reminder of his miserable attempt to keep Nora alive; especially when she didn’t want to be saved anymore.

 

The memories still taunted him, headaches that felt like he was being jabbed with knifes over and over, even though he was welcomed into a new family of sorts; It did still took him a lot of courage to be comfortable with everyone’s presence, or to speak a word. Especially to Oswald; He heard many blood-chilling stories of what the crime lord had done; he was not someone to be messed with; especially his never ending ambition.

 

 _But he was surprisingly soft to me, I suppose. Odd._ Victor thought to himself while he awaited a pickup truck at a dark alley; checking the specified chemicals inside the wooden compartment before the human popsicle nodded to the dealer before heading off back to the manor which was only five blocks away; his heat-resistance gear sure can be such a weight to handle but it was all he had to avoid burning to death.

 

Fries fumbled for the doorknob with the delivery rested upon his shoulder like a feather as he approached inside before closing the door behind him. He heard all too familiar chit-chatter from his place in the corridor, pacing himself over to observe Oswald squawking at probably Ivy again, but what caught his attention was the winter getup when it was literally 50 degrees today; Dead silent as usual while he placed the box on the floor with a _thud_.

 

“Have you seen Victor, perchance?” Oswald hauled himself around the corner into the lounge, frantic with worry. These past few days Fries hadn't been himself, though usually brooding and eerily quiet he’d been even more so this week and it set Oswald’s teeth on edge. “It's just that.. I happened to pass by his room and found it completely devoid of him.”

 

Ivy arched her brow and looked up at him from her place on the couch, smirk fixed firmly to her face. “And you just _happened_ to pass by in all that winter gear, huh?” _What was the little rascal getting at?_ Oswald’s face flamed as he straightened his spine and stood defiant in the face of her insinuations.

 

“I'll have you know that I'm _cold_ , and I wouldn't want you _mothering_ me if I happened to get sick.” So what if he'd donned his coat and gloves? It was his home to do as he pleased and if that meant wandering around in an extra three layers of clothing that was his prerogative.

 

 _“Riiiight._ Whatever you say, Pengy.” Ivy giggled and returned to her sketchbook, asking no further questions on his search mission. “And no, I haven't seen the walking popsicle.”

 

Oswald chewed his lower lip and huffed, he'd grown so accustomed to his self-made family being around him this past month it seemed entirely odd to have one missing. And the fact that it was _Victor,_ who he'd grown so oddly attached to with barely a word spoken between them, only made matters worse. Spinning on his heel, he hobbled back into the corridor, calling behind him.

 

“Well if you see him could you-” before he could finish his sentence his steps were halted by a solid _thunk_ as he butted into an immovable object, and as he lifted his hat from over his eyes and peered up, he saw that _object_ was none other than Victor Fries. Now that he'd found him, Oswald had lost his voice in his presence. “I- hello, Victor.. I was just.. _hi,”_

 

Cobblepot always seemed to flinch and stutter at the sight of Victor which the taller man didn’t bother with much, gazing down at him with an emotionless expression that hid curiosity, “Uhm, hi, Oswald. I guess you were..wondering where I disappeared to; just a couple of errands as usual. No biggy, sir.” He eyed the small, apparently flushed raven haired man in momentary silence before gesturing a finger at his unusual outfit, “this is the part where you explain that?”

 

Oswald glanced down at his attire and then back up at Victor, his cheeks darkened and eyes wide. “ _Oh.._ oh this? I’m just a little chilly, i-its nothing, truly.” _Oswald Chesterfield Cobblepot, you are smarter than that!_ Victor raised a brow at him and Oswald wished the floorboards would open up and swallow him, he should have know that was the least plausible excuse he could have come up with in the middle of sumer.

 

 _Chilly?_ Victor thought to himself with slight confusion on his face enough to raise one of his whitened eyebrows at the small man. Oswald seemed rather lost for words, his composure scattered all over the place. It was honestly so unlike him. But the frosty, broad man didn't seem to mind at all. “It’s.. Hot out.” he mumbled, frosted eyes narrowed with a tilt of his head as he continued to observe the bird's flabbergasted silence.

  
Swallowing thickly, Oswald shook the nerves and whipped the hat from his head, revealing tousled hair underneath and gripping the fur in tight fists. He suddenly felt utterly ridiculous in his layers, clothing fit for mountain climbing in the blistering heat must have looked hilarious. The white plumes of frost which billowed around Victor’s face captivated him once more as he stared up into those blazing blue eyes.. Then he realised they’d been standing in awkward silence for much too long. “I-”

 

“Pengy’s sick!” Ivy called from the lounge past a mouthful of food, breaking the tension between them with her sing-song tone. “He was _wondering_ if you had anything in that little makeshift lab of yours to make him better, isn’t that right?”

 

“I am.. _Not_ sick, I assure you.” Oswald stammered and threw a scowl over his shoulder at Ivy, the _last_ thing he needed was help conversing from a child. His gaze darted to the box he’d dropped, curiosity taking firm hold. “Did you find anything of interest? And please, it’s Oswald. There’s no need for formalities such as _sir_ , Victor.” Oswald offered a smile, bright and earnest as he peered back up at Victor with nothing short of awe painted across his features. _Get it together Oswald, what’s wrong with you?!_

 

Admittedly, for such a menacing, demeaning, supposedly the terror of Gotham as Fish Mooney liked to describe him, Victor could only see a small Cobblepot bundled in too many layers for such odd reasons, eyes that sparkled like the ocean, but most of all those flushed cheeks dusted a constellation of freckles. _And those plush parted lips that attempted to spill words but could only breath air_.

 

 _How adorable_ , but of course Fries kept that to himself to be as professional as possible with his lips curled inward to force away a smile except there was no hiding the dusting of blue that formed across his frosted cheeks. His eyes shifted his attention to Ivy, blinked a few times at her explanation while she busied herself with food.

 

Freeze turned his gaze back to Oswald who spoke with reassurance. “I suppose that would make sense; a cure for fever is usually to sweat it off with mountains of layers. But you're not like you said.. So..” The taller man scratched at the back of his neck with a cold index finger, his iced pupils glanced at the compartment, “Well, yes. Just a couple of chemicals to experiment on...y’know for a cure maybe if possible. Not exactly all rainbows and unicorns when you have a constant fear of getting turned literally into bacon under the striking sun.”

 

He scoffed at his sense of humor, sucking the inside of cheek awkwardly in more unnecessary silence.”Oswald. Right, gotcha. Well...” Victor returned the delivery over his shoulder with no problem as usual, “I’ll be cooped up in my freezer as always. Care to come over and bother me whenever.” He managed a little smile before walking away.

 

“Oh, I- right, of course!” Oswald felt himself blush from the tip of each ear to the very tips of his toes, an invitation from Victor was one he couldn't refuse, but as he watched him walk away he found he was still frozen to the spot. “ _Bye Victor.”_ He sighed and twisted his hat in hands, smiling wholeheartedly as the last plume of icy smoke vanished around the corner. How was it that someone who scarcely spoke to him could have such an effect on him? Perhaps it was the mystery, Oswald found his need to discover the man’s secrets increasing as each day passed by.

 

With a shake of his head, he told himself he was being ridiculous and started fumbling with the clasps on his coat, mumbling under his breath and walking back toward the cloakroom. He'd hardly taken a step before he was pulled back, Ivy standing before him with her arms crossed over her chest, tapping her foot.

 

“What do you think you're doing?” She tilted her head and narrowed her eyes. Oswald didn't appreciate her attitude in the slightest and took a step closer, brow furrowed in confusion.

 

“What do you mean, what am I _doing?”_

 

“Are you _deaf?_ The guy just invites you to his freezer and you decide to take of your coat and ignore him? You've been looking for him all day, pengy. Go get him!” A beaming smile stretched across her face and Oswald rolled his eyes.

 

“First of all, _don't_ call me Pengy. Secondly, I'm sure the invitation reaches past today, I can visit Victor any time I like.”

 

“Oh come _on!_ It's clear you have a weird little crush on-” Oswald gasped and pressed gloved hands over her mouth to keep her quiet, if Victor heard what would he think of him!?

 

Ivy frowned at him and huffed, but Oswald refused to remove his hands until he was absolutely certain she would be quiet. “Are you quite finished with your little outbursts? _I do not have a crush on him!”_ He hissed under his breath and scowled with all his fury behind it, cheeks burning brightly. “I am simply curious as to what experiments he conducts in that laboratory of his, _when_ you've done spreading your rumours.”

 

A second later, Ivy bit his finger through the gloves and he pulled back with a yelp, gawking at her in disbelief. “You're curious about _something_ , that's for sure. C’mon, we’ll visit him together.” She took the hat from his hand with a smile and perched it back on his head, much to his distress. _I'm not a child._

 

As they wound through the corridors and arrived at Victor’s door, Oswald glanced to his side and frowned. “Ivy.. why aren't you wearing your coat?”

 

“SIKE!” Ivy giggled and skipped away, but not before knocking three times on Victor’s door. _I'm going to kill her!_ Oswald thought, seething and wide eyed in shock as he anticipated the door opening. _What do I say!?_

 

_~_

 

Because of Oswald’s ongoing complaints about the ‘horrid’ metal music, Victor tried to keep the volume up to a reasonable degree whilst he continued on his experimentations. He jammed a crowbar between the box and the lid, pressing it down with his foot which snapped the top compartment open with no difficulty whatsoever. The frosty haired man smiled with satisfaction at the numerous tubes of liquid nitrogen along with other chemicals to test and combine with.

 

He rid of every gear of his armory, hanging them inside a gigantic glass tube where the cryogen blaster rested; leaving himself in nothing but his baggy grey shorts. Freeze then carried the box onto the laboratory countertop, carefully taking out a few of the chemicals and into the test tube rack along with the empty flasks. His icy blues were fixated with such concentration once he got to work finally, with strong, delicate fingers pouring a few drops of blue into another solution. Grabbed the beaker before he twirled it in gentle circles with observing eyes as he watched the two chemicals blend into a nice shade of orange.

 

“Interesting”, Fries’ lips curled into a tilted smile before switching on the bunsen burner, placing the glass on top to watch the chemical boil; He took a few notes onto his ragged book while licking his bottom lip, “The chemicals mixed into an interesting reaction; change of color even. Orange hope to represent a reversal reaction instead of cold temperature; a cure hopefully.” His eyes shifted to a few mice squeaking in a metal cage, letting out a heavy sigh. Victor tapped his pencil on his notebook, turning off the burner after a few seconds to fill a good amount of cryogen liquid into a syringe, then wearing ice resistance, leather gloves before unlocking the chamber, retrieving one in his test subjects with a firm hand who squeaked in fear and protest.

 

“Sorry little guy...don’t worry! Your life won’t be a complete waste...you know..if the antidote works.” He drew the syringe just an inch away from the mouse’s neck who continued to squirm. But then Fries flinched at the knock at his door, nonchalantly blinked a few times, gently putting the mice back into the cage. He placed the syringe down before approaching to the door, heard at what seemed to be Ivy’s voice but for only for a second, opening the huge metallic door finally. Victor raised a frosted eyebrow at the petite figure before him, still in that..cute winter attire.

 

“Ah, Oswald. I assume you accepted the invitation.” The taller, broad scratched his own nose with an index finger before giving Cobblepot access to head inside, “What brings you here?”

 

“I.. _I..”_ Oswald lost his train of thought as he peered up at the man, he was completely shirtless, his look completed with low hanging pants which accentuated every curve and dip of his hips and muscles; and Oswald was yet again rendered speechless. Victor peered over Oswald’s shoulder and then looked back down at him, gesturing with a nod of his head to come inside. “Oh, of course, how rude of me.” Even with the door open he was sure Victor would be starting to feel the burn of the air on his skin, and here Oswald was, dawdling without a care in the world.

 

“It’s no problem. Really.” Victor reassured, wincing from the heat outside until closing the door behind him when Oswald waddled his way in. _The squeaky little bird sure loves the prolonging silence doesn’t he?_ He thought to himself whilst his frosted blues observed the smaller man’s knee that jittered in pain more than usual which brought a pinch of.. Concern to the taller man. His eyes furrowed with confusion at the impulsive thought, scratching at the back of his neck before he forced a small grin as Cobblepot faced him once again with those ocean blues staring back at him as usual. The excessive staring never really bothered Mr.Freeze but he couldn’t help but feel curious at why the scrawny crime lord had such interest for frosty snowman; _especially him. Of all people_.

 

Without the aid of his cane, Oswald hobbled inside with a wince, the extreme icy temperatures already bringing an awful ache to his knee. His cheeks still burned as he entered Victor’s domicile, not quite able to believe Ivy had been able to outsmart him with such a simple and cheap trick.

 

“I came to.. _ah.._ to finally see what you'd done with the place.” Oswald offered a poor excuse, it was an apparent lie, all he'd done since he entered the room was _stare_ at the man who occupied it.

 

Another long moment of awkward silence and Oswald cleared his throat, glancing to the test tubes glowing orange on a desk in the centre of the room. “Are you any closer? To finding a cure, I mean. Is this..”

 

Victor scoffed at such an odd question, giving a casual shrug as he gestured a hand to the atmosphere, “I mean well...it’s the same as usual. Just a laboratory countertop as an addition, and of course the new compartment of chemicals.” He nodded slowly at his own response that only followed with more momentary silence, in which Fries turned his back to the metal cages of mice. _Maybe I could give Mr.Cobblepot-Oswald a live observation of my experiments_ , He smiled almost with delight at the idea, but just as he was about to retrieve one of the lab mice, “Well, even after thousands and thousands of failure, I still have hope so perhaps today is the d- w-wait don’t touch that!”

 

With a gloved hand, Oswald reached out to pick up a test tube and instantly pulled back with a yelp, the heat melting a hole right through the fingers of his mittens and scalding the skin beneath. The tube shattered, columns of steam rising and swirling before him as it worked to melt the floor. “I- I'm sorry, I didn't-”

 

Victor’s warning came too late. Because of Oswald’s fumbling curiosity, he burned his finger with one of the chemicals gone to waste. It didn’t really mattered to Victor at this point; Making his way to the smaller man with eyes mixed in fury and worry. Fries took him gently by the wrist, taking off the damaged mitten to examine the wound closely “Ugh, this antidote is above unimaginable degrees, you’re lucky it’s just your finger. Now, this will help numb and dry the pain but you have to hold still.” He brought his lips inches away from the index finger to avoid freezing it, blowing cool air, watching the bird gasped and winced but he held his composure.

 

Once Victor was satisfied at the sight of wound that shrunk a little, and instead the spots of blood faded and dried; his icy gaze turned to Oswald, with a tilted smile, “How ‘bout you waddle around, stare all you want but don’t touch the stuff, okay?”

 

Oswald’s eyes widened and he gaped like a hooked fish, Victor was so gentle, so careful and kind that it took him by surprise. So far he had only seen two sides to the man; brooding and sulking, or flying off the handle in a tantrum when something didn't work out in his lab. Never had he seen him so thoughtful and caring, and Oswald felt an unfamiliar warmth swelling his chest. _No. Never again, Oswald._ “Th-thank you, Victor.” He mumbled as he dropped his gaze and shuffled away, examining his finger closely before replacing the mitten.

 

“No need to thank me.” Victor watched those fluttering ocean blues drop their gaze to the floor all for Oswald to shuffle away. Seeing him oh so careless was highly unlike him; but the frosted man could care less.

 

“I'm sorry about the mixture. I'll have Ivy pick up more the next time she runs her errands, I assure you.” Oswald felt silly and sheepish, why he’d assumed he was allowed to just touch Victor’s belongings was beyond him and incredibly rude.

 

Fries walked over to the cages of mice, observing their fumbling movement and little squeaks that cry for help while his ears continued to pay attention to Oswald’s concerns and apology. “I really have more to spare, but if you insist, any form of gratitude means a lot.”

 

“Are you any closer to reversing your condition? I think you're fine as you are- I- I mean, being different isn't always a bad thing. Right?” Oswald saw Victor’s shoulders drop with a sigh and suddenly he wished he hadn't asked. He would hate to be a cause of further sadness for the man.

 

He took the key again to unlock the cage, retrieving one of the mice who fidgeted violently in his hand, but he kept the little rascal secured, clicking his tongue in thought at Cobblepot’s question. His shoulders dropped which followed along with a heavy sigh; noticed the regret in the shorter man’s features, Victor gave a slight smile as sign that there was no harm done, “I think about that many times, believe me. This ability has given me benefits I could never imagine. But.. a temporary cure wouldn’t hurt; a couple of hours out in the sun and being able to glisten in sweat, to feel the warmth…”  
  
Fries trailed away from his words, feeling poetic out of the blue, shaking the thoughts away before scratching at the back of his neck as Oswald spoke again, “You know.. I once knew someone who would have had the mixture perfected in a heartbeat.” He offered a sad half smile and stood around awkwardly; every surface he could have perched himself on would have seen the cold bite through even his thick winter clothes.

 

As much as he despised Edward for what he had done to him, Oswald missed the comfort he found in his presence, everything came so easy with him and he found himself missing those days. “He was so smart. I have no doubt that he would have helped you, Edw-” the name felt bitter on his tongue and died there, words dissolving before they had even formed. He would not let himself be seen as weak, as _loving_ the man who tried to kill him. “I'm sorry. I'm sure you'll find a cure, I have every belief that you will.”

 

Victor’s head tilted in curiosity to the mention of this certain someone which started to sound very familiar as the small crimelord kept talking. After a couple of conversations with Ivy, he fully understood the picture of this love tragedy. His icey blues also noticed the hidden sadness in that smile which involuntarily swelled his heart; the name couldn’t even be said without it feeling like a disgusting pill.

 

Both of their situations may be different but Victor understood how it felt to lose someone he loved. He swallowed dry before clearing his throat, “Uhm, thank you, Oswald. And uh..that guy uh...Edward Nygma..” Oswald’s eyes blinked in slight fear, “The plant lady told me..I..I know what’s like to love someone too much.. That you end up hurting them even more in the end with heh, stupid decisions..just..just something to relate there. But! On the upside, You two have a chance to..make amends. Someday. Maybe.”

 

Victor gave a rare genuine smile before pacing over to the countertop to retrieve the syringe back, watching the mouse squirm as the shaky needle drew closer. Mr.Freeze closed his eyes for a brief moment to breath before fixating his vision, pushing in the freezing chemical as both men observed the mouse freeze completely into a little frosted ornament. He then cleaned the syringe before filling it with the hot liquid in the beaker to inject it into mouse, melting slowly, “Aright little fella, hopefully you won’t melt for more than a few minutes this time.”

 

Oswald watched on in awe as the mouse slowly but surely began to defrost, his eyes glittering with excitement. It was fascinating to experience first-hand what went on down here in the freezer; all Oswald had heard previously were loud cracks and the smashing of glass whenever Victor flew into one of his tantrums.

 

First the rodent’s little pink nose started to twitch, then her eyes darted around from side to side. Oswald couldn't stop the smile which came unbidden as the creature’s toes began to flex, and he let out a huff of incredulous laughter. _“Incredible.._ V-Victor! You did it! That's-”

 

Victor’s eyes widened in anticipation and self-doubt, fixated on the mouse’s every twitch and movement while his lips slowly curled into a grin as he felt himself clinging onto his hope; it felt like hanging onto an edge of a cliff in hope to pull himself up with every faith he had left. As the little rodent flexed on the countertop, an impulsed chuckle spilled out of his lips that followed with Oswald’s excitement, “Y..Yeah. I suppose so-”

 

Oswald’s excitement was short lived as a piercing squeal shattered the air, the mouse’s body contorting violently and curling in on itself before melting into the metal tray, nothing more than a puddle of vile smelling goo.

 

The frosted man’s lips parted in despair as the mouse melted into nothing but that familiar stench; the back of his mind expected it; the voice in his head was waiting; dreading for failure til it could scream in his aching head. It failed again. It failed again. _I told you this would happen. I told you I told you. I. told. You._ “AAAARRRGHHHH!” Mr.Freeze couldn’t hold it any longer, jabbing his fists at the countertop which immediately bruised with cracks, smacking at the side of his head a few times in frustration.

 

The outburst jostled Oswald along with all the remaining mice in their cages. “Victor..” he began timidly, but Fries was seething and getting through to him was proving impossible.

 

The mice squeaked in fear, “SHUT UP! SHUT. UP!” Victor grasped through his white strands furiously, his breathing became uneasy as his broad chest eased in and out at a rapid pace. Everything was turning into static, even Cobblepot’s voice. The voice only grew louder and louder, sucking him into the deep blackness of all his too many failures; especially when he failed to save his wife.

 

“Victor, it's okay..” Oswald hobbled to his side and placed a gloved hand gently on his chest, softly encouraging him to step away from his failed experiments and take a breath. “You'll get there.. you'll get it. You need to free your thoughts from all this anger, it won't bring you the solution you pursue.”

 

Peering up into ice blue eyes, Oswald offered a small smile and rubbed Victor’s arm soothingly, feeling the chill deep through even his thick gloves to his bones.

 

Just as Fries thought he might pass out from the thoughts, he flinched at the touch of Oswald’s gentle mittened hand which caused his heart to finally calm at its’ normal pace; so did his breathing. Victor dropped his hands to his sides slowly before fluttering his frosted pupils open to gaze down at those concerned ocean blues, shaking his head at the comforting words, “no it’s not. No it’s not..it’s not enough.”

 

“I'm sorry I never said it before, it never seemed the right time. I'm sorry about your wife, Victor. Truly I am.” He felt Fries’ anger abate almost immediately, unspoken emotion shining in his eyes. “True love is accepting people as they are, and I know that she would have loved you enough that she wouldn't have _wanted_ you to change. If you weren't.. well.. _you,_ I would have never sought you out. I'm thankful that I did. You're fine this way, Victor. Really.”

 

His mouth gaped at that genuine smile; there was really more to this criminal than what Fries had read in the papers. The soothing hand at his shoulder almost alarmed the taller man due to his condition; but Oswald didn’t mind. Not one bit. And it warmed Mr.Freeze’s heart; Ever since Nora’s death, he never gave into anyone’s company; he always barricaded himself in this freezer; this isolation that was his peace.

 

But being in Oswald’s comfort, especially now, made the frosted man crave for more. A need for that affection; the acceptance. Perhaps, this entry into an ‘army of freaks’ wasn’t such a useless agenda after all, “Th..thank you, Oswald. Thank you for your...concerns.” There was not much to say, and it was always that way with Victor; He only spoke quite little; long sentences are dreading especially when he was working. But either way, Victor was glad to finally loosen away from his paranoia, he awkwardly raised his hands to embrace Oswald in return.

 

 _He feels so warm. I miss it_. Fries sighed quietly with eyes closed, before momentarily they widened in realization, then pulling away at the sound of Cobblepot’s chattering teeth, “Oh heh. Sorry, little guy. I almost froze you.” He managed a little grin as his strong, gentle fingers brushed away the flakes of white off his warm layers, snickering at that child-like scowl.

 

“Yes, well..” Oswald rubbed up and down his arms in an attempt to drive some warmth back into his body, glaring up at the man with a scowl. “Perhaps a little warning would be nice next time before I’m manhandled.” He could feel a familiar temper rising, as it always had with even the slightest inconvenience; but he forced himself to recall just where he was, and why he was here. _Calm yourself, Oswald. It was nothing more than an innocent mistake._

 

“I mean, there’s no need for apologies here. No harm done, right?” _Well, apart from the growing hole in the floor where I dropped the mixture_ , he thought with lips pursed. If only there was a way to help him, perhaps Victor wouldn’t be scowling all the time, it would certainly make life much more enjoyable for the rest of his self-made family, and simpler too. Fries would still be a valuable asset to the team with his knowledge and skill set, no matter his temperature.

 

Oswald cleared his throat and took a step toward the door, eyes searching Victor’s face for any indication that he’d upset him. “I’ll leave you to.. This. Can’t have any more of my mishaps today, or you’ll never get anywhere.”

  
“Really, Oswald, it’s fine, you’re welcome to stay.”  
  
“No no! Please continue. You know where I am if you need anything at all.” Oswald nodded with a smile and stepped into the corridor, closing the door behind him and tearing the hat from his head with a sigh. What a _mess_ he’d made today. If only there was a way he could make it up to Fries. _Surely there’s a way I can help._

**Author's Note:**

> Aw, Oswald you're too adorable for your own good!!  
> Look forward to the next chapter CAUSE IT'S GONNA BE THE BEST WE TELL YOU  
> Feel free to read through some of our other works~


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